In a recent ruling by the Appeals Committee of the Dutch Financial Complaints Institute, Kifid, ING Bank has been instructed to compensate a customer €64,000 after a sophisticated bank helpdesk scam. This decision overturns an earlier ruling by Kifid’s Disputes Committee, which had initially rejected the customer’s claim.
The case involved a business account owned by a customer who is the sole shareholder and director of a company, with his wife holding full power of attorney. In late 2021, the customer was contacted by a scammer posing as an ING employee, alerting him to suspicious transactions on his account. During the call, a second scammer convinced the customer to install AnyDesk software, which allowed remote access to his computer. The scammers then transferred €64,000 to two German bank accounts.
The customer’s wife intervened during the call, suspecting fraud, and immediately contacted ING. However, by then, the funds had already been withdrawn from the German accounts. Despite this, ING initially refused to cover the loss, citing that the affected account was a business account. The customer’s wife subsequently appealed to Kifid, but her claim was initially dismissed on similar grounds. She then escalated the case to Kifid’s Appeals Committee.
In their ruling, the Appeals Committee stated that the account’s usage leaned towards personal transactions, which influenced their decision. “In the view of the Appeals Board, the nature of the account’s use should be considered, especially if it shows more characteristics of a private account,” the committee noted.
Kifid’s leniency framework, which banks employ to compensate victims of bank helpdesk fraud, generally applies to consumer accounts. The Appeals Committee highlighted that the customer believed he was following standard bank procedures and was unaware of the sophisticated nature of the scam. Additionally, ING’s statement that the customer was misled in a “sophisticated manner” weighed heavily in the ruling. The customer’s age, nearly 76, was also noted as a factor.
The judgment reaffirms the leniency framework’s purpose to provide full compensation to victims of fraud. Consequently, ING has been ordered to reimburse the €64,000, plus statutory interest dating from December 21, 2021.
